HONG KONG - HSBC Group Chief Executive Georges Elhedery said Hong Kong is the group's home market and a major area of growth opportunities, expressing firm conviction in the region's future as an international financial hub.

In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, Elhedery underscored Hong Kong's role as a wealth management hub and a "superconnector", attributes he identified as the cornerstone of its status as a global financial center.

The banker highlighted the region's unique access to the Chinese mainland. Through schemes like Stock Connect, Hong Kong offers by far the most attractive and comprehensive gateway to the world's second-largest economy, while also serving as a bridge for mainland capital to the global market, he said.

The CEO noted an emerging trend over the last couple of years, with Hong Kong increasingly becoming a pivotal hub for outbound investments from mainland enterprises into markets such as ASEAN, the Middle East, Europe and the United States.

In particular, he projected that the region is on track to become the largest cross-border wealth hub by 2030, citing that HSBC has been acquiring about 100,000 new clients per month for the past two years.

Elhedery's bullish outlook coincides with Hong Kong's sustained performance in the Global Financial Centres Index, where the region was ranked third globally and first in the Asia Pacific. Notably, its rating gaps with New York and London have narrowed.

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Hong Kong has an open capital market, an open immigration and talents program where people from around the world can come and establish here, all of which would definitely consolidate its status as an international financial center, Elhedery said.

For HSBC, Hong Kong is a major international connector, the CEO stressed, as the group bases its global network in Hong Kong to support connections between its customers.

On Hong Kong as an offshore renminbi center, Elhedery said the region is the right platform and best connector as it understands not only policy considerations, but also the needs of international participants.

"The developments so far are very encouraging. We expect even bigger liquidity of renminbi in Hong Kong," he said.

Hong Kong has also been stepping up the development of digital assets, and the Stablecoins Ordinance has come into force. Elhedery said he was encouraged by the regulatory developments, as a sound regulatory framework is a prerequisite for the healthy growth of the digital asset sector.

Hong Kong has seen a surge of initial public offerings, with the Hong Kong bourse reporting 69 newly listed companies in the first nine months of 2025, a 53 percent increase year on year.

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"When looking at the pipeline, we expect a continuation of this activity for at least the next 12 months, if not more," the banker said. "It just demonstrates one more time why Hong Kong remains one of the most attractive international financial centers on the planet."